Bridgeton pioneer., 1887-07-14
3RIDGETON, N. j., THURSDAY, JULY IA, 1887
WHO OWNS PITMAN?
Joseph Seeds Claims He Owns
the Land.

A number of people in this city have
stock in the Pitman Grove association
and number of cottages owned by
Bridgetonians stand within the en-
closure. The following article taken
from the Woodstown Register will be
of much interest to all persons in this
vicinity who are thoroughly ac-
quainted with that famous camp meet.
| ing ground:
John Seeds, of Woodbury., the Press
says, has been at work with legal help
for short time past examining the
title of the land held by the Camp
Meeting Association at Pitman Grove,
by purchases from Westly Jessup and
Joseph Jessup, that part of the tract
| on the west side of the turnpike hav-
ing been purchased of the former and
| that on the east side from the latter
Their father, as everybody in this part
of the country knows, was James Jes-
sup, who was a very extensive land
holder, counting his possessions by
miles rather than acres. Mr.. Seeds
says he has already learned to GER
tainty that James Jessup never had
title Owning the land around it, he
simply took up'' this Seeds tract, be-
longing to an unsettled estate, and paid
the taxes. There are two hundred and
forty acres of it, and it's limits extend
hnf cf
erty held by the association. The real
owner of the land was Joseph Seeds, a
resident of Malaga, the great grand
father of the carpet manufacturer
Seeds, now of Woodbury., but former
resident of Cumberland county in the
neighborhood of Vineland. The pub
lie records, Mr.. Seeds says, concur with
the old deeds in his possession in prov
ing that his great grandfather had the
legal title to this land by purchase, ,and
do not show that he or his heirs ever
conveyed that title to anybody else.
There is no deed of the purchase of
this land by James Jessup on record.
As an heir of Joseph Seeds, our towns
man has no doubt as to his right of
ownership in this land, but whether
after all these years he can get posses
sion, is question about which he is
not so confident. He does intend, how
ever, to make his claim effective if he
can, and so, as already stated, he is
carefully hunting up the history of the
property and all evidence likely to be
available in a legal contest, should he
decide to try to enforce his claim as
the heir of Joseph Seeds. The manner
in which Mr. Seeds came into posses
sion of the old deeds, which may possi-
bly, prove valuable, is quite curious
and a little mysterious. First he was
told by woman who was a stranger
to him, whose name he doesn't know,
that such documents were in the hands
of certain person whose name the in
formant gave him. He took little
interest in the story until man, also
a stranger, whom he took up to ride
on the turnpike between Barnsboro
and Ptman, told bin the same thing,
and also that the old papers would
show that heas descendant of Joseph
Seeds should have inherited the Pit
man Grove land Mr.. Seeds then went
to the person said to have the old
deeds and found that the information
was true. That person had no interest
in the papers, and readily gave them
to Mr.. Seeds. The deeds cover various
tracts of land in different parts of the
county, aggregating many hundreds
of acres, one tract in Deptford town
ship, and the search so far fails to
show that any of this property of the
estate of Joseph Seeds was ever legal
ly disposed Of"